Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently aired his views on Facebook Home, saying that in spite of the HTC First, there is no one particular ‘Facebook phone’. He reasoned that Android Home was merely software that would put social networking in the driver’s seat of a smartphone. Facebook Home, christened by Zuckerberg himself, has come into a lot of publicity lately. Let’s see what all the fuss is about.
Facebook Home is designed to be a launcher like several others already existing on Android. All Android phones are provided with a default launcher but there are several other launchers that give you extra screens or varied options on the way app icons are displayed. Facebook Home is designed to be one such launcher available for free download on Google’s Play store. The traditional lock screen is replaced by full screen images from Facebook. Status updates and phone notifications can be viewed by swiping the screen. Users can update their status, upload photos or even check-ins directly from the launcher.
Another advantage that analysts believe will work in Facebook’s favour is the fact that the company isn’t going to create its own app store. The fact that the launcher will rely on existing Android apps means that users will still have access to Gmail, Chrome, Maps and a host of other Google services. In simple terms, Facebook hasn’t modified its interface to a great extent as in the case of Amazon with its Kindle Fire tablets. Facebook Home will not only run on upcoming phones, but will also have backward compatibility courtesy the approach Facebook has adopted.
Messaging is undoubtedly the centre of attention in the interface. Whenever a user receives a message or a group Facebook chat, a little circular icon pops up with the sender’s face on it along with a brief preview of the message. All this is designed to happen on top of the app itself, implying that a user need not jump to a specific text to begin a conversation. Analysts assert that this could be a key feature given that this method is a lot faster and much more convenient that the traditional form of messaging. Facebook Home will certainly make an impact among the public. How lasting this impact will be remains to be seen.
